New on Hein Online: National Survey of State Laws - March 2017 updates

The 7th edition of National Survey of State Laws (NSSL) was added to the Law Library's collection of online resources a little over a year ago. The power of this tool is that it allows users to compare a wide array of state laws. The list of topics covered range from Abortion to Wills.

With one click of a button, any selected law can be viewed across the last three editions of the NSSL to see how it existed in 2005, 2008, and 2015. The graphic below covering the topic "Gun Control" also includes an entry for the new March 2017 updates.

Hein Online recently rolled out their March 2017 updates to a number of other topics as well. Notice that a few were updated in April 2016.

As a test of the database's currency, a check was made on the topic "Marijuana Laws." According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), nine states had ballot initiatives concerning medical and recreational marijuana last November 2016. In eight states, voters approved these initiatives. It was found that the entries for all eight states had been updated to reflect the changes in their laws.

If your research requires comparing states laws, the NSSL will be of great help to that end. Users have come to expect a high quality product from Hein Online, and this one is certainly no exception to the rule.